


Ruby Blooms

by CornetHummy



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Gem War, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-08 10:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4300482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CornetHummy/pseuds/CornetHummy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Love takes time, and love takes work. At the very least you have to know the person." A take on how Ruby met Sapphire, and eventually how Garnet met everyone. Likely to be jossed sooner or later, but that's how it goes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rose Quartz

Her name is Ruby, and she is expendable.

This is what she reflects on as she sits in a tent, a prisoner of the rebels. Homeworld forces won’t go back for her. They won’t save her. Why should they? She’s an acceptable loss. Small, strong for her size but considerably weaker than the towering Kindergarten gems who made up the juggernauts of White Diamond’s forces. They tolerated her presence. Perhaps they thought her hopes of surviving the battlefield were endearing.

Perhaps if she’d managed a heroic death, they would have honored her. They would have noticed her.

Here she is alone, clutching her knees to her chest and shaking. She hates how she shakes when her nerves get to her. She wants to be defiant in the face of certain doom, staring it in the eye and welcoming it with a smirk. She thinks of Tigerseye, who fought bravely with her fiery claws right up until her gem cracked in half. Tigerseye, taciturn and noble, who once or twice even made eye contact with Ruby.

Homeworld will come back to collect the halves of Tigerseye’s gem, in case they can be of use. They will not come back for Ruby.

They instructed her all too well on what would happen if the rebels caught her. “They’ll use your gem as a power source. If they don’t think they can find a use for it, they’ll smash it to bits. This is Rose Quartz we’re talking about! Haven’t you heard how ruthless she is?”

And as she traces the gem on the palm of her hand with her index finger, she tells herself the other members of her squadron were just teasing her. They thought it would be funny to see the smallest Gem startled or frightened. They knew how bad she was at hiding her reactions. It gave them a reason to acknowledge her, a lowly maintenance Gem recruited into combat against the rebellion by necessity.

She tries once more to punch the great pink barrier surrounding the entrance to her tent, only for her fist to ricochet off of it. It doesn’t hurt and it doesn’t do a thing other than allow her to vent her anger for a second. Maybe that’s all she needs.

As the barrier ripples from the force of her punch, she sees figures approach. One is tall and thin; another towers over the other, with long curling hair. It couldn’t be Rose Quartz, could it? Why would the leader of the rebellion bother with a typical prisoner? Ruby can count the number of times she’s seen White Diamond in person on one hand, and that was always in front of a huge crowd.

  
But the form is unmistakable. There is a huge Gem in the same flowing white gown she wore on the battlefield, minus her sword and shield. Her curling hair seems to trail behind her like a veil, her feet hidden under the gown and her navel gem glinting in the moonlight. Rose Quartz is coming to visit the prisoners, and as far as Ruby can tell she’s the only prisoner in sight.

Rose’s only visible attendant is the white-skinned, long-limbed Gem still carrying her spear. The Pearl (she is obviously a Pearl of some sort) eyes Ruby suspiciously through the barrier, and then clears her throat. “Rose will see you now. And if you make so much as one false move-”

“I’m behind a barrier,” Ruby mumbled as she stood up straight, not about to be condescended to by this apparent guard. “What am I going to do?”

“I am simply warning you,” Pearl continues, though before she can say more Rose places a hand on her shoulder and smiled. Pearl blushes a faint blue and steps back, allowing Rose to kneel down next to Ruby. The barrier vanishes as she does, though between the way Pearl keeps her spear trained on Ruby and the fact that she is in the midst of the enemy camp standing before the infamous rebel leader herself, Ruby has a feeling making a run for it wouldn’t be a wise decision.

Instead she does her best to look defiant and dignified before Rose, who could likely pick her up one-handed. She is not prepared for the rebel leader to smile so disarmingly, however, nor for the voice to sound so gentle and kind.  
“You don’t have to be afraid,” Rose says, and she speaks as if she believes it to be true. “And you don’t need to cry. Why are you crying?”

“I’m not crying,” Ruby snaps, even as a tear rolls down her cheek. Her eyes like to betray her like that. “And what do you mean? I’m your prisoner.”

“I know, and I’m sorry we have to take prisoners at all.” Rose glances away. “It’s not something I wanted to do, but war is…” She shakes her head, her curls bobbing. “I’d just like to talk to you for a moment. What’s your name?”

“Ruby.” Ruby has trouble meeting Rose’s gaze. It’s too sincere and warm for a warlord; she can’t reconcile it with the figure she saw singlehandedly fight a Kindergarten giant, silhouetted against the setting sun. At least White Diamond’s condescension and distance are understandable. The Diamonds are the strongest, and they act it.

“Ruby.” Rose says her name like it belongs to a close friend. “I’m Rose Quartz. You-oh, you’ve probably heard of me by now, I imagine…” Did the leader of the rebellion just chuckle nervously? “I sometimes wonder what sorts of things they’re saying about me back on Homeworld by now. But it’s a little late to worry about that...I just want you to know, we’re not going to hurt you.”

“Unless you prove to be dangerous,” Pearl adds, not taking her suspicious gaze off of Ruby. “But,” she adds quickly, “we’re not monsters or anything. We treat prisoners with dignity.”

Ruby glances away, rubbing at her elbow. She isn’t prepared for this kind of confrontation. An unwinnable fight would be easier to handle. “So you’re just going to keep me here like this until the war ends?"

“No, not at all! That would be too stifling, I mean…” Rose bites her lip. “Ideally, I’d like to bring you over to our side.”

This seems to surprise Pearl, who gawks and points a finger at Ruby. “You want to recruit her? But she’s a Homeworld Gem! She works for them!”

“We all worked for them, once,” Rose answers with a gentle shrug. “Remember?”

As the Pearl straightens back up and lowers her gaze from her leader, Ruby thinks she hears a mumbled ‘I only worked for you.’

Rose turns back to Ruby with those eyes full of starlight. “Were you conscripted?” Her smile falters for a second. “Are they conscripting Gems to fight in the war now?"

“N-not exactly…” Ruby thinks back to messages broadcast across Homeworld encouraging Gems with any combat prowess to speak of to enlist in the fight for Gem unity. She recalls speeches given by the Diamonds telling of the dangers of letting a planet rich in resources fall out of their grasp over an ideological dispute. They all have an undertone to them that is hard to ignore: _you don’t have to fight if you don’t want to, but if you know what’s good for you…_

All told, Ruby doesn’t like to dwell on the degree to which this was or wasn’t her own choice. Her temper flares up and she hears herself shout. “What does it matter if I was or not?! It isn’t like I fought very-I mean, why does it matter to you…?”  
Rose doesn’t seem upset at the outburst, though she pauses and hesitates as if mulling over a thought. “It matters to me,” she answers in a definitive tone.

Ruby glances around at the encampment, a meadow spotted with planted weapons. The graves of fallen comrades, no doubt. The soft, green stuff that seems to grow on the surface of this world has been scorched in places, the scars of battle. She wishes to look anywhere but at Rose’s penetrating, unnervingly kind stare. An enemy should not seem more welcoming than an ally. _She is an enemy_ , Ruby reminds herself. _She’s claiming Earth for herself. Don’t listen to anything she says. Think of Tigerseye..!_

“Are you going to make me fight with you?” Ruby asks, focusing on a squirming, wriggly life form making its way across the ground. There are drones like this back on Homeworld, but nothing that just runs free, and nothing so tiny.

“Oh!” Rose seems to have noticed where Ruby is looking. “It’s an earthworm. They perform an important function here on Earth, renewing the soil so plants can grow.” She steps away to let the little creature pass unharmed. “This world has such a complex ecosystem. Ruby, I promise I won’t make you fight for us. I don’t want to force anyone to fight. But I’d like to show you why I want to save this world, and maybe convince you to join our cause. If you choose not to in the end, we’ll return you to your leaders unharmed.”

Ruby stares up at the giant who moves aside to let a tiny being pass, who speaks to her as if she matters. Is it the brainwashing her leaders spoke of, the insidious charisma Rose Quartz is said to wield to keep her forces in thrall?

“Why do you want me on your side?” Ruby didn’t expect to ask that. She’d meant to say something more defiant, something one ought to say to the enemy. She needs to take better control of her mouth and her eyes, she decides.

“Because” Rose says, “even if you don’t agree with me in the end, I think you’ll listen.” Rose stands up straight, turning over her shoulder at a greenish energy ripple in the distance. “I have to go. You’ll be safe here. And I’ll be back, I promise. I wish I could let you roam freely, but if you go back to the enemy…”

Right, Ruby reasons. Can’t let the prisoner leak secrets back to Homeworld. Rose is strange, but she isn’t a fool.

As Rose heads off, the Pearl gives Ruby one more stern look. It doesn’t quite fit her, somehow. (Who ever heard of a Pearl in a combat role, anyway?)

“Don’t even think of escaping,” Pearl warns, holding her head high. “We’re very secure here-I mean, top security. You won’t make it, is what I’m trying to say!” The barrier reappears as she speaks, blocking the entrance to the tent.  
The guard follows Rose, and for a moment Ruby wonders if once again she’s been left alone with her muddled thoughts. It’s a bit of a let down, in a way. As odd as Rose was, at least when Ruby spoke with her she had a distraction from her memories of the battlefield. Being alone means more flashbacks to clashing weapons, flashing lights, screams of rage and terror.

Then something emerges from behind a crystal pillar planted in the middle of the tent. This form, too, has long hair and a bell-shaped dress that obscures her feet. But unlike Rose she is small, just barely taller than Ruby and thinner in build, with most of her blue face obscured by her white bangs.

No. Not _her_. Ruby would take solitude over seeing her, of all people. Not the Gem who found her, paralyzed with fear under a fallen pillar. Not the one who saw her at her lowest moment, when any promise she might have held as a Gem warrior was gone.

“What-what do you want?!” Ruby glared at the unknown Gem through the barrier. “Did you come to make fun of me? Are you going to tell your leader what a coward I am, so she changes her mind about recruiting me after all and just sends me back to Emerald’s ship?” She knows there are tears in her eyes again, and this time she doesn’t care that she can’t hide them.

The white-gloved Gem reaches towards the barrier for a second and then pulls her hand away as if burned. She hesitates, finally saying something so low Ruby can’t hear it.

“Wait? What did you just say?” Ruby takes a step closer.

The Gem’s voice is still a whisper, surprisingly low for her little form. “I said, don’t worry. Everything’s going to be alright. I have a feeling.”

Ruby’s eyes widen. She turns away, clenching her eyes shut. “Just...go away! Leave me alone…!” She stays that way until she hears the too-fast sound of footsteps and a fluttering skirt. When she faces the entrance again, the other Gem is gone.  
She tells herself not to think about the blue Gem, or worry about anything she says. She’s just being condescending, which is somehow worse than being mocked. Staring down at the dirt, thinking once more of the earthworm for some reason, she kicks at the ground.

“Well, what do you know anyway…”


	2. Sapphire

Her name is Rose Quartz, and she is _impossible_.

Ruby paces, wearing a circle in the dirt beneath her booted feet. She tugs at her bandanna. She does anything she can to burn off the energy in her restless body as her mind goes over that conversation.

“Psychological tactics. It’s-it’s gotta be psychological tactics, right?” She speaks aloud to sort her thoughts out. So much Ruby knows of her is through rumor and infamy. Maybe the Rose Quartz Ruby has been sent to battle isn’t a real person. Maybe the face Rose shows Ruby isn’t real, either.

Ruby’s legs are tired. She sits cross-legged and holds her head, glancing at the angular figure of the Topaz assigned to keep an eye on her. The Topaz isn’t a very chatty sort, only occasionally peering through the pink barrier to give Ruby a curious look before resuming her post, glaive in hand. Ruby shoots her glares that mostly go unnoticed. Smoke rises from the ground as Ruby burns footprints into it. She catches herself and tries to cool off, quite literally; while the heat wouldn’t bother her, a barrier filled with smoke would get claustrophobic.

She’s not used to being wanted, personally, as an individual. Not for a long time. “Ngh, this is so stupid! I’m being stupid here, that’s all. I always am! Rubies aren’t...supposed to need to be wanted. We’re reliable. We do our jobs! And I’m a soldier! I mean, right now I am. I guess. Why am I even letting this get to me? Why am I even thinking about this?! I should shut up in enemy camp. I’ll shut up.” She bites her lip; the silence lasts a few seconds. “But it doesn’t make any sense…!”

Maybe this is a matter of pride for Rose? A way of looking at Homeworld and saying, ‘I convinced all these other Gems to turn on you.’

Ruby peers over her own crossed arms and sees something in the distance. Past the rolling hills and meadow scattered with broken weapons and spotted with burnt, trampled grass, a cone-shaped peak rises up. The top is dusted with snow, and from it escapes a serpentine cloud of grey smoke. It brings to mind one of the ancient geothermal power plants built beneath the undercities, areas long abandoned by Homeworld.

“The Fire Garden.”

Ruby jumps and stumbles back as she notices the Glue gem from earlier standing next to the barrier. She hadn’t heard any footprints. Indeed, the hem of the blue Gem’s dress is floating just inches above the ground.

“Showoff,” Ruby mutters under her breath. She still doesn’t want to see that Gem in particular, but supposes she has little choice in the matter. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s a volcano, a natural formation on a geologically active planet. The ones back on Homeworld are mostly extinct. But if construction is allowed to continue, the Fire Garden is going to turn that volcano into a power source for Gem construction. It will also-if you touch that, you’ll get freezer burn.”

Ruby pulls her finger away from the thin film of frost forming around the exterior of the barrier, cold enough for her to feel it through the other side. “I-I wasn’t going to...I mean, wait. Why are you telling me this? I’m still the enemy, you know. Is this more psychological tactics? Cuz they’re not gonna work on me!”

“Sapphire. My name is Sapphire. You were going to remember to ask that eventually, so I’ll go ahead and tell you now.” Sapphire finally turns to look at Ruby directly, her long bangs still obscuring most of her face. Her hair has a silver sheen, dotted with ice crystals. Another Elemental Gem, Ruby realizes, of a sort she hasn’t seen before.

“Uh, Ruby,” the fire Gem manages, wondering why she’s suddenly tongue-tied. She reminds herself to be on her guard, to suspect everyone of the brainwashing she worried would happen in Rose’s clutches. “I mean, wait, why am I telling you? You probably already know, right? Rose sent you here to throw me off my guard!”

“No. Why would she send me to do that?” Sapphire tilts her head just slightly. “I’ve been told Rose is more personable than I am.”

Sapphire never seems to let emotion seep into her voice. Every word sounds carefully chosen and deliberate. Her movements are slow and elegant. She shows no signs of the emotions that bubble up within Ruby and erupt without warning, the words that come unbidden or the literal fire Ruby has to keep from bursting around her even at this moment. It’s infuriating.

“Are-are you just making fun of me?!” Ruby is aware that she’s heating up the inside of the barrier again, melting the frost away and warping her vision with rippling hot air. That just makes it worse. “Think you’re so great just because you’re-in control and-and know more about what’s going on, and…”

Sapphire looks at Ruby for a long second and then turns back towards the volcano, expression unreadable. “I told you, Rose is more personable. But I’m not making fun of you. Why would I do that?”

“Because...because, I don’t know.” Ruby sits back down, aware of how foolish she sounds. “I’m an easy target, being a prisoner and all.”

“You’re on fire,” Sapphire notes.

“I know, I know!” Ruby pats herself out, grumbling under her breath. She has no idea why she cares about looking presentable in front of Sapphire.

“Would you make fun of a prisoner?”

Ruby blinks and stares. “What? No, of course not! It’s bad enough being a prisoner among a bunch of strangers. Not knowing what’s going to happen to you or who you can trust and stuff. Why would I kick someone when she’s down? That would just be mean.”

“Then why assume the worst of everyone else?”

“Because...because…” Ruby isn’t sure she can find an answer she really wants to talk about. Because others on Homeworld would, she knows. Because she knows what it’s like to be someone’s target; she’s so used to it she lets her temper literally flare before they can even start.

Instead, she settles on an easier answer. “Because I’m on my guard. You would be too.”

“They wouldn’t capture me.” Sapphire looks off in the distance. “I have to go. They need me. Pearl will bring you to Rose soon.”

Ruby runs her hands through her thick, curly hair, still hot to the touch. “And let me guess, you’re gonna say I should listen to her if I know what’s good for me.”

“I’m not going to tell you what you should do or how you should feel. That isn’t why I’m here.”

As Sapphire starts to glide away, Ruby finds herself plastering a hand against the barrier. “Wait! I just don’t get it. Why are you here?!”

Sapphire looks over her shoulder a little too quickly, as if she sensed Ruby’s movement. “Please don’t ask me too many questions.” And then she’s gone in a rush of blue.

That was odd. Does she pity Ruby? Sapphire was the one who had found her. Maybe she was just curious. But Ruby always sees herself as self-explanatory. She wears her heart on her sleeve. She doesn't hide her emotions because she literally can't, not when her heat-generating gem reflects them all over her body and the world around her. What is there to be curious about?

While Ruby is pondering this, the Pearl from before approaches. She looks more nervous than smug this time, and whispers something at the Topaz, who Ruby had forgotten about. Ruby immediately scolds herself for allowing herself that conversation with Sapphire. Of course the Topaz heard everything! Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“Um, yes.” Pearl tugs at her collar. “I’m here to-”

“Take me to Rose, right?” Ruby rises to her feet and sighs. “Go ahead.”

Pearl narrows her eyes. “How did you-you weren’t talking to Sapphire, were you? Wait, well, it’s probably obvious anyway. Oh, and don’t try anything funny when we lift the barrier.” Her spear is pointed right at Ruby. “Like that.”

“Like what?” Ruby asked. Then she glanced down at the scorched ground beneath her feet. “...Ohh. No, I can’t do that to the whole camp or anything.” She forms her hands into tight fists to turn off the radial heat. “I’m not stupid or anything.”

The barrier vanishes again, and Pearl and Topaz urge her forward. Ruby expects a command center of some kind, or maybe a throne. (‘The traitor Rose Quartz fancies herself ruler of Earth and usurps the proper role of the Diamond Order’ plays in Ruby’s head, though she’s forgotten the rest of White Diamond’s long-winded speech.) Pearl is talking about something related to the security of the base, and Ruby tunes her out.

It hits her that if she really wanted to she could at least create enough of a distraction to break free. Yet she has no desire to do so. She tells herself it’s a logical decision. It would be stupid to anger Rose Quartz in the midst of all her followers. She doesn’t even know where the Homeworld forces are, or if they’d bother with her. That isn’t why she doesn’t try to escape; Ruby isn’t sure why at all.

She stops at Pearl’s command. There’s no throne here, nor even a pulpit. Aside from the few hastily-erected spires designed to protect the camp and monitor it, there are very few Gem-created structures. And at Ruby’s feet, there is...green.

A soft carpet of green, littered with pink and red flowers, the edges of it touching her boots. Ferns curl upwards and insects dart from blossom to blossom. For a planet that looks so blue from space, Earth already looked surprisingly green to Ruby, but not like this.

Ruby looks up and sees Rose Quartz bent down, standing in the middle of the patch of plants and moss. The hem of her dress is smudged a dark green, and she’s clasping her hands in front of her.

Pearl and Topaz both kneel, Pearl gazing up with awe, Topaz still all business and no chit-chat. Ruby just stares up at Rose, unsure of what to say.

“Hello, Ruby.” Rose smiles, again without any of the malice ascribed to her by Homeworld or the fury seen on the battlefield. “I thought you might like to see my garden.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Keystone Motel airs*  
> Me: WELL GOOD THING I WASN'T TOO FAR INTO CHAPTER TWO! Also good, goooood. 
> 
> Gonna be out of town next week so I may not be able to update, but we'll see. Also since that episode showed that Ruby tends to rant rather than stew quietly, I tried to roll with that.


	3. Potential

_Her name is Tigerseye, and she listens._

_She’s tall and aloof, laughing at inappropriate times. She has a dark sense of humor Ruby finds unsettling and off-putting, or at least hard to relate to. She leans back when other Gems stand at attention, chewing idly on one long fingernail. Maybe that’s what makes her stand out. Or maybe it’s her height, her lanky form that seems to stretch over others. Or those stripes._

_But Ruby remembers the time she listens._

_Ruby knows she can’t shut up and isn’t even trying. Everyone else will likely tune her out, too busy with their own concerns to bother with a nervous Ruby. No one needs to see her afraid._

_She’s pacing in a circle on the ship, thankful that the floor is reinforced to withstand her heat, talking to herself. “It’ll be fine. Fine! I can fight. I’m pretty strong. Nothing to fear. I’m an eternal flame. Just keep telling myself that. I’m an eternal flame and I’m not afraid of anything…!”_

_“That’s a good technique,” a scratchy voice says._

_It stops Ruby in her tracks, and she finds herself peering up at the striped Gem. “I-I don’t know what you mean. I wasn’t-I was just…”_

_“Psyching yourself up. It’s natural. Might get dangerous. Better go in confident.” Tigerseye runs a finger against the glimmering wall of the ship. “Better pretend it’ll all work out.”_

_“Pretend?!” Ruby heats the air around her until it shimmers, not bothering to hold it back as she glares up at the bigger Gem. “I’m not pretending! I’m serious about this! Do you think I’m some kind of joke? Is that it?!”_

_“Relax, relax.” Tigerseye chuckles, revealing little fangs when she smile. There’s no malice in it, though it looks tired and forced. “If you think it’ll work out for you, I believe you. Fire’s hard to stamp out, right? Catches on quick and keeps burning.”_

_“...I guess that’s a way of looking at it.” Ruby isn’t sure if she should still be mad or not. It doesn’t seem like Tigerseye is making fun of her. “Yeah, I’m not easily stamped out. So I’m pretty confident.” It’s a lie, and Ruby knows it as she crosses her muscular arms in front of her. She’s strong, but untrained. “Why don’t you think it’ll all work out? You’re a veteran, right? You were there when we took Hex-5!”_

_“It’s because I’m a veteran.” Tigerseye stretches, and she just sounds so weary despite the ever-present smile. “Hex-5 was...well, nothing to be proud of. But don’t you worry about that.” She reaches down as if to ruffle Ruby’s hair, which Ruby averts with a sharp look. “You’re a young Gem, aren’t you?”_

_“...Not so young.” Elemental Gems are a relatively new line, brought into existence a mere 50 Homeworld years before the Earth incident began. They’re rare enough that Ruby has only met two or three more Rubies in her life. She’s heard of rock-manipulating Magentites by reputation alone. But to admit to being a ‘young Gem’ is to suggest one’s own inferiority in an already stratified society. “What do you mean, Hex-5 was nothing to be proud of?”_

_“Nevermind. The important thing is, we never had to send second and third waves of reinforcements to Hex-5. A Ruby wouldn’t be taken away from the power stations to fill in for a line of rogue Pearls and shattered warrior Gems. They reserve veterans like me for moderately advanced planets that pose a threat; they shouldn’t need me for Earth.” Tigerseye looks out the window at the sea of stars._

_“But we’re not fighting the inhabitants of Earth. We’re fighting Rose Quartz, and she will kill us. Keep burning if you can, little flame. You’ll need it.”_

* * *

 

Ruby looks up at Rose and her garden and once again finds herself unsure of what to say.

She doesn’t kneel like Pearl and Topaz. (Kneeling in front of the enemy leader? What would Tigerseye think?) She doesn’t break into a run because she’s sure she’s not that foolish and reckless.

She doesn’t step closer to the garden, though Rose offers a hand.

“It’s alright,” Rose Quartz insists with that same cryptic, gentle smile. “You’re not in danger here.”

“I’ll burn the plants,” Ruby blurts without meaning to. “When I get upset-or I guess it’s more of a defensive thing...I won’t mean to, but I can’t always control it! And the plants-I mean I wouldn’t intentionally do it! I like plants.” Why does she say that? She is, to her own knowledge, completely indifferent to plants. She’s barely seen any naturally-occurring ones back on Gem Homeworld.

Rose hesitates, her smile slipping just a little bit. “I trust you.”

“But I’m the enemy!” Ruby keeps herself from adding, ‘you’re supposed to hate me!’

To that, Rose just shakes her head. “You are, but you’re overpowered here. And you aren’t a threat to me. Or the garden,” she adds. The little bit of a smile remains, her voice calm and soothing as ever.

This is no warning. Rose is just stating the reality they all know. It’s so obvious even Ruby herself can’t find the implication offensive or upsetting.

_Cool down, Ruby_ , she tells herself. _I am a captive here and can’t do anything about it. If I hear her out, she said she’ll let me go. It isn’t a betrayal._ She takes a deep breath and stills her nerves.

Rose rests her hands on the front of her dress. As she walks through her garden, the flowers open up to greet her, bells unfolding and lilies swaying. “Tell me, what do you think of this planet?”

“Earth?” Ruby stops, looks around at the rocky, hill-covered landscape and the smoldering Fire Garden in the distance. “It’s...blue from a distance. Covered in clouds. Geologically active.” She reviews the notes from the briefing. “The dominant life forms are ‘humans,’ who don’t live very long and need to feed off of other life forms to survive.”

“Yes, that’s all true.” Rose’s gaze remained steady. “But what do you _think_ of it?”

No one has asked Ruby that before. Earth itself is almost an afterthought in the war, a catalyst to turn Gem against Gem. That’s what the Homeworld citizens find so baffling, what Ruby recalls wondering about alongside her fellow maintenance Gems.

If she’s in this position anyway, Ruby decides it can’t hurt to tell the truth. “I don’t think much of it, I guess. Except that it confuses me. It confuses a lot of us! Why this planet?” She’s pacing again in a little circle, carefully stepping away from the garden. It helps her sort out her thoughts. “What’s so amazing about it that we’re going to war with each other over it? Gems haven’t made war against other Gems in a long, long time! And never over something like this! It’s the sort of planet we would conquer without a second thought or struggle ordinarily! Like we’ve done before-like you’ve done before! There’s just a lot of rocks and trees and carbon-based things here, right? What made you come here and then throw away your entire reputation for a place like this? What sort of power does it have that you want for yourself?”

She looks up briefly at Rose, who is just watching, before continuing. “I-I mean, you know what’ll happen when they defeat you, right?” If, not when. You, not us. “Homeworld will have your Gems crushed! Maybe publically, as traitors! Or they’ll have you permanently trapped in Gem form and installed into equipment like they do to criminals! You know that, don’t you? So why? What’s so important about this planet in particular that you’d risk your lives for it?”

Rose looks down at Ruby, and this time Ruby can detect a hint of sadness in her eyes. Disappointment? Why should it matter to Ruby if the rebel leader is disappointed in her? Rose turns away, facing the horizon. For her ‘incorrect’ answer, Ruby half expects to be sent back to prison, or perhaps dematerialized and bubbled.

Nothing of the sort happens. Instead, Rose just sighs. “Nothing, I suppose.”

“...Nothing?!” This time Ruby can’t even manage a rant. She just gawks.

“I can’t truthfully say this planet is more special or important than any other inhabited world we conquered. Not as it is. We did as we always do-we attacked and installed ourselves when the dominant life forms were still emerging, still vulnerable and stood no chance against us. I saw worlds fall that way.” Rose sounds distant, a breeze blowing through her thick curls. “When I came here and encountered the humans, I couldn’t bring myself to do it anymore. I couldn’t help snuff out another world’s potential for the sake of more power we didn’t even need.”

“Potential? White Diamond said they had minimal potential. She said their lifespans were too short, and since they need to eat other things they’d inevitably wreck their own ecosystem and wipe themselves out in wars before they could even learn space flight.” Specifically, Ruby recalls, White Diamond suggested that the invasion would just speed up the inevitable. That was the first time Ruby could recall one of the Diamonds actually justifying a planetary invasion.

As she says it out loud, something about it feels wrong and twisted. The phrase ‘minimal potential’ echoes in her mind, like a low-level Elemental Gem. _Or a Pearl_ , she adds mentally as she glances at the Pearl gazing with Rose in admiration.

No, it’s not just admiration. The Pearl loves her. Ruby recognizes it quickly and glances away, slightly flustered. Love is often considered unnecessary back home, inefficient. Ruby has never bothered to think about it much, but she knows emotion when she sees it.

“I think White Diamond said those things because she wants them to be true. She wants to believe what she’s doing isn’t wrong. We all do.” Rose turns around to face Ruby again, the flowers following. “How awful it would be if the roots of our entire existence were founded on cruelty. We create such beautiful things, don’t we? I used to think Homeworld was one of the most beautiful planets in the galaxy. But this place…”

“Humans have an incredible degree of potential.” Sapphire is suddenly present, appearing without Ruby having noticed; for all Ruby knows, she can teleport. “They could become far worse than Homeworld one day, or something else entirely. We believe we have no right to snuff that out for our own sakes. Why should the strong tread on the small?”

For some reason, Ruby can’t think of any response to Sapphire. It isn’t just that she finds the things she’s saying oddly reasonable and relieving, and that makes Ruby feel like a traitor. There’s just something about Sapphire that catches attention in a way even Rose Quartz doesn’t. Her movements are graceful and slow, her voice soft but weighty. She speaks as if she has carefully chosen every word. And she’s looking at Ruby; Ruby can’t see her face under her curls, but she can tell.

In an attempt to distract herself, Ruby forces her attention back to Earth and Rose. “I just don’t know what we’re supposed to do instead. We make new Gems this way. Right? Without other planets, more of us won’t even be born.”

“You’re right.” Rose nods once. “I just think there might be another way. Surely we of all creatures have time to think about it, right?”

“...I don’t know about this.” Ruby can’t even believe the words coming out of her mouth. “It’s a lot at once. And I’m still not sure why you want me along. I’m not like you! I’m just-I’m practical. I’m used to being told what needs to be done and doing it.”

“You mean just following orders?” Pearl says that with a degree of contempt; Ruby considers pointing out the hypocrisy of a Pearl questioning that, but thinks otherwise.

It finally hits her: a Pearl is one of Rose’s most trusted guards. None of the Diamonds would offer that sort of rank to a Kindergarten Gem, let alone a Pearl.

“I just-I mean-I…!” Ruby takes a big step back as she feels heat lines rising around her.

“Do you want to go back?” Rose asks, her tone sincere. “I did promise we would send you back if you wanted after you listened to me, and you did. Thank you, Ruby.”

“I... “ At that last phrase, Ruby holds her head and turns away. She thinks of the Homeworld ship, glittering and functional and heartless. She hears the contempt and dismissal in the voices of her superiors, thinks of so many indifferent bodies looming over her. She thinks of Tigerseye.

_“Keep burning if you can, little flame.”_

“I-I can’t go back! I’m awful and cowardly and a traitor but I can’t go back there now! Not now, anyway. They’re not like you. I told you, I’m not like you! I don’t think about things...I don’t even know what you want me for. But, it’s fine.” She balls her hands into fists and looks up at Rose. “I mean, this doesn’t mean I’m working with you now. Not exactly. Oh, I don’t know! Just...grant me one request. As your prisoner, or whatever I am now.”

“A request?” Rose tilted her head.

“I-I want to talk to her. I mean, you. I mean, no, you!” Ruby turned directly to Sapphire. “I just-really need to ask you a few things. I don’t know why, but I do! Then I’ll know what to do, I know it.” Even Ruby herself isn’t sure what drives her to do it. It’s just the things Sapphire says. She seems to know more about Ruby than Ruby herself does.

Rose looks to Sapphire, leaving the decision to her. Even that, Ruby admits, is a point in Rose’s favor. Sapphire looks right at Ruby, who just catches the glint of a very blue eye through her bangs.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay between updates! I went on vacation, then had trouble getting back into the groove. I swear after this the plot starts rolling soon-I know so far it's a lot of talking and Ruby being confused. Hope you're enjoying nonetheless!

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here's my first Steven Universe fic. Since we don't know much about Ruby and Sapphire or the Gem War at this point, a lot of this is going to be speculation and extrapolation on my part. We're seeing a pre-Sapphire Ruby here, which is why she lacks the confidence we see through Garnet. I can't promise what my update schedule will be, but I'll try to keep it at least once every two weeks or so. If you enjoy it, please feel free to comment! I love comments.


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